One Last Meal ...

What if your next meal was to be your last.  If you knew this to be true, would you make it something spectacular?  All your favorite proteins.  All your favorite breads and veggies.  And hey, go crazy on the butter and seasonings because, well you know, it won’t be your cholesterol that finally gets you.  Most of us cannot get our heads around this idea.  If for some reason we knew our “last” meal was coming, food would likely be the last thing on our minds.  It is a rare soul who gets ravenous at the idea of not eating ever again.  Most of us would want our closest family as close as they could be.  The precious moments we spend with them would likely far outweigh even the most inventive cuisine and menu.  But hey, I did not propose you eat alone.  Bring as many as you can.  Make it a feast.  Include those long-lost relatives you have been reluctant to make time for.  Invite your boss who does not care much for you at work.  Not to impress him/her, but to bury the hatchet and show love even to the hard to love.  You might delegate the work of picking that final meal, but even then, I cannot imagine most of us ordering fast food.

Jesus did.  If there had been a chain of McDonald’s in ancient Israel the fastest food you could make would be the foods they made on Passover night.  It was literal fast food.  It was made quickly because they did not have a lot of time that night in Egypt so long ago.  They needed to eat and be ready to run at a moment’s notice.  And hey, for the folks who were too ashamed to post the lamb’s blood on the door frames – whatever meal they did eat, was the firstborn’s last one, Israelite or no.  The institution, the feast, the remembrance of the Passover came from that night in Egypt nearly ~1200 years before the time of Christ.  It was preserved through the writings of Moses and handed down father to son throughout the life of the Israelite people until the days of Jesus, even to our own.  Jesus knew the timing the events that were to befall Him.  His death would come at the culmination of all the Jewish high holidays (such as the year of Jubilee that only happened once every 50 years where all slaves were freed, all land returned, and all debt was forgiven).  His death would come at Passover, so the Passover dinner was to be His last.  Take out.  Fast food, ordered 1200 years before it would be delivered to Him.  Not much of a celebration in terms of fine dining.  Fine dining, even then, takes time to prepare (perhaps more so back then).  So this last meal was to be simple, and easily prepared.

Part of the tradition of that meal was to eat bitter herbs.  Yeah, nobodies favorite there.  But it was done to remind them of the bitterness of slavery from which the Israelites were freed (by Jesus by the way).  Perhaps it would not hurt our modern day Christians to remember Passover and join our Jewish friends in its keeping.  The bitter herbs we eat would symbolize the exact same thing as they did in Passover – Jesus freeing us from the slavery of our sins.  Pharaoh has nothing on the addiction of sin, and Jesus remains the only power able to beat sin in you.  A few bitter herbs to remind us of that is not a bad thing.  The unleavened bread, or the bread of haste, has meaning in our world as well.  Our Lord is coming back, sooner than we may care to admit, and needing a bread made in haste could remind us of the haste in which He returns.  I know people have been saying that forever.  And for all those souls who have tasted their last meal, that saying remains true (just not how they expected it).  For us, the pattern may be a little different, but the bread of haste is not bad symbolism when you look forward as well.  In any case none of this would be the traditional choice of someone who knows it would be their last meal, at least no one I can think of today.  But it was His pick.

Matthew tells the story in his gospel to his contemporaries in chapter 26 picking up in verse 17 saying … “Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?”  Already one feast was dovetailing on the next, and since Passover is most important (and perfectly symbolic), the disciples are more concerned about preparing for that one for Jesus.  None of them have let the thought sink into their heads, that this will be His last meal.  They cannot bear the thought of Him being the condemned.  He is perfectly innocent.  And as it should be; the perfect lamb without blemish.  Jesus responds in verse 18 saying … “And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. [verse 19] And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.”  The first McDonald’s in history perhaps.  But even then, preparations had to be made.

Matthew will not record the entire foot-washing incident.  Perhaps it still stung too badly in his conscience.  Perhaps he just did not think that was the main point we should be focusing on.  Matthew spends his time outing the betrayer.  Is it so with you and me?  Are you and I so obsessed with pointing out the sinners in our church fellowship, we have forgot we owe that same sinner a debt of loving service, done in humility.  It is quite hard to criticize a sinner, and forcefully recommend their disfellowship, while girding a towel around your waist and gently placing their feet in a warm bowl for washing.  Just as Jesus did ~2000 years ago.  The King of Kings thought it not beneath Him to do the lowest work of a servant for each of the disciples at that gathering.  Including Judas, including Matthew, including Peter, even though Peter was not too fond of accepting this humiliation (he got over it).  Perhaps we like Matthew are so focused on identifying the traitors to Jesus, we lose all sight of the service we owe those very same traitors.  Sin is not driven away through accusation.  It is lured away only by the transforming love of Jesus, our loving those same sinners was meant to reflect His love, and give them a reason to seek change in the first place.

We underestimate the power of our love.  Most often because we ration it out so sparingly.  But Jesus was a fountain of love with no end in sight.  What we give away in tiny tiny increments, flowed out of Jesus with the force of Niagara Falls.  Exactly whose servants are we?  Matthew continues the story picking up in verse 20 saying … “Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. [verse 21] And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.”  Matthew pounds on the traitorous theme.  Perhaps he still worries it might have as easily been him.  The truth is that every disciple at that table will betray their relationships with Jesus as the night continues.  Most will run, hide, and stay as far back as their hearing will allow as the horrid events unfold.  No hero’s in this room.  No one ready to even be honest about who Jesus is to them.  When they see Jesus is headed for death, they ALL will doubt if He truly is the Messiah.  So I ask, are any of us free from this traitorous blame?

Jesus has declared one of them will betray Him.  Whatever Jesus says always comes true.  So it is certain.  The weight of it begins to sink in.  Matthew continues in verse 22 saying … “And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?”  Think of this for a moment.  We are talking about a betrayal that has not happened yet.  And each one of them is forced to ask, Lord is it me?  Am I your betrayer?  This should give you an insight into sin that no other scripture has the weight of.  This is an act only one disciple has contemplated and acted upon so far.  Yet ALL of them are unsure if it is them Jesus is talking about.  They are all capable of it.  They are all horrified by the idea, but no sin is beyond them, and they all see that.  If Jesus prophesies it must be true.  They cannot imagine each other as being the one – so that only leaves – me.  Lord is it me?  A heinous sin still in their future, one none of them wants to commit, but all are scared they might.  Lord is it me?

We read these texts as story.  But is the ultimate betrayal of our Lord in your future, and are you humble enough to go to Jesus and ask – Lord is it me?  If you refuse to admit it could be you, it is likely already you.  No one wants to be Judas.  But Judas was Judas.  He was as righteous and as failing as Peter, but most of us would want to be Peter, none want to be Judas.  The difference was not the sin, but where we look to see sin taken from us.  Judas stopped looking at Jesus for the removal of sin.  Peter though completely broken by pride and unforgiveable action still looked to Jesus no matter what.  The weight of the sin was the same.  But where we go to see it removed was wholly different.  Matthew continues in verse 23 with the answer of Jesus saying … “And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. [verse 24] The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.”

The heart of Matthew is so far from food or feasting he could have been eating dirt right about then, and not even known it.  It was comforting to have those he loved around him.  These other disciples were his family by choice and brotherhood.  Having them there helped.  But the answer of Christ shook Matthew to the core of who he was.  He that dips his hand with Me in the bowl.  They were ALL dipping their hands in that same bowl of olive oil to season or spread across the unleavened bread.  Olive oil was a precious tasty nectar full of health properties and delicious as a spread.  They all had dipped.  They all had used it on their bread.  Matthew no different than the rest.  But Jesus did not stop there, He continues saying it would have been better for the betrayer NOT to have been born.  Was Jesus talking directly to Matthew? 

Was He talking to me?  I have betrayed Him too.  I have cast aside His victories, choosing to mire in my sin, like a pig does in his own filth.  In my sin I betray Him.  Would it be better for me not to have been born?  That is a pretty dark and heavy thought.  It is meant to be so.  We need to understand where the weight of sin leads, and there is but one destination – this one.  There are no “petty” sins.  There are no light sins, there is only the addictive nature of sin that leads here and no where else.  To the joining of the conspiracy to kill the son of God and take His place running the universe.  It will be the final rallying call of Satan in the final assault against heaven destined to fail, yet all will join it without reservation.  The saved hear another call.  For the saved have been freed from their sins, like the Israelites were made free from Pharaoh so long ago.

Judas now feels like the whole room is looking at him.  He had his hand in the bowl at the same time as Christ when He made that saying.  He feels pressured.  Matthew continues in verse 25 saying … “Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.”  Matthew has unveiled Judas.  But his account omits the words of Jesus to Judas to go and do what he must do quickly.  Perhaps Matthew still cannot get his head around the idea that the best of the disciples admired by all, might be the very one who will betray Jesus.  And for Jesus to wish him speed, Matthew just cannot understand.  But with all this focus on betrayal, the focus turns back to the meal.  Passover will remain important, but will be altered for us to look forward, not backward anymore.

Matthew continues in verse 26 saying … “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. [verse 27] And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; [verse 28] For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”  For the remission of sins.  This meal is about the removal of the addiction of sin and our slavery to it.  It is only the life of Jesus, the love of Jesus, the sacrifice of Jesus, that empowers Jesus to re-create in you what needs to be re-created.  A new creature.  A new person.  A person devoid of sin.  A person who no longer craves sin, or wanders into it mysteriously.  A person who loves others so passionately they become in harmony with God, with His Laws, and with His heart.  This is the very core, the very power of the Gospel.  The power of Jesus does not end at forgiveness, it only begins there.  The power of Jesus carries through to ending sin completely, in you.

But so that we would have an idea of how special we are to God.  Jesus creates a new tradition even for Himself.  Matthew continues in verse 29 saying … “But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.  [verse 30] And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.”  Jesus will deny himself the taste of our grape juice, even the perfected version of it heaven alone can offer, until He drinks it again with us.  You can bet He has likely worked up quite a taste for that now.  And given the symbolism of drinking that drink when we are ALL back together at home in His kingdom – that is going to be some world class grape juice not a one of us can avoid loving.  I am not much of a grape juice fan here.  I have it on occasion, mostly prefer Kadem sparkling version.  But up there, you can just leave me a few pitchers of that stuff, I want a belly full.  They sang a hymn.  And they moved on.  The last meal was now a matter of history …

 

Prologue of Consequences ...

John begins to reveal a new vision in chapter 15 of his book of Revelations of Jesus Christ.  The sequence of this revelation matters.  It occurs after the works and proclamations of the previous six angels in the prior chapter.  It occurs after the rise of the third beast, and after the Mark of the third Beast is implemented on a universal basis in our world.  It is against the backdrop of these events where what transpires becomes the final series of events in the history of evil in this world.  The sunset of evil has begun.  But John does not open this new revelation with a picture of despair, or judgment, or condemnation.  Instead as is repeated again and again in this book, and throughout all of scripture, John opens with a scene of hope.  The gospel is not about defining what we deserve and condemning us to experience our well-deserved punishment.  The gospel is about offering us a gift we do NOT deserve, and seeing the love of God over-ride the justice we deserve.  And so even at the end of all things, even when evil is about to suffer its long deserved fate, our scene opens instead with a focus on what hope offers by contrast.

John begins in verse 1 … “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.”  This would be the third set of seven angels, who will be carrying out the judgments of God upon the wicked of our earth.  John continues in verse 2 … “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.”  But the first thing John reveals is NOT an immediate execution of God’s wrath, not an immediate pouring out of the plagues he has just opened this vision with.  Instead, John’s attention is NOT drawn to the suffering of the wicked which is obviously on the horizon; it is to the people who stand upon a sea of glass mingled with fire.  These people “had gotten” the victory over the beast.  First notice that the people to whom John is referring did NOT conquer the beast themselves.  Instead they “received” the victory from the Lamb.  Then they stand redeemed carrying harps of God, the joy of their redemption song is already starting to emerge.

John continues in verse 3 … “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. [verse 4] Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”  Offering glory, or perhaps better stated, pointing out the glory our Lord deserves, is the lyric of their redemption song.  Asking the rhetorical questions angels and the redeemed love to ask; singing about the power of our God.  This is the prologue of events that transpire – BEFORE – the actual plagues are poured out.  There is a reason why the suffering of the wicked is not the first event we focus on, even in a revelation of the final 7 plagues in our world’s history.  Instead, our attention is drawn to the fact, that not all is lost.  Not all have rejected Christ, sacrificed their identity, and taken upon themselves the Mark of the third Beast.  Victory through our Savior is possible, and there are those who have accepted this victory.

Satan longs to present our God with his own character.  He presents an image of a vengeful stern judging God who cannot wait until He is able to punish the guilty for all of their crimes.  But nothing could be farther from the truth.  If God lived only to punish those who were guilty, there would have been no plan of redemption, and Satan would have been killed the instant he disobeyed.  Instead, love offers the patience of allowing a choice to see it accepted or rejected.  And here, even when the judgments of God being poured out upon the wicked is imminent, the first focus of the revelation is not about the punishment but about the hope.  The first focus of this revelation is about the fact that victory over the beast is a reality, and has been accepted by those who now sing to God.

Even now there is a delay in the telling of eventualities to focus first on redemption, on salvation, on the freedom that Christ has brought to those who sing the praises of His name.  Hope is always what Christ reveals to us first.  It is only our stubborn refusal of that hope that sees our ultimate demise.  The story of Noah is not dissimilar in this regard.  God decides that the evil of mankind must be destroyed.  But instead of acting on His decision, He finds Noah and through His grace He waits 120 years while Noah builds a vessel that will save mankind from utter destruction.  Noah preaches during these 120 years, and if the people had heeded his message (like those who later heard Jonah in Nineveh), the flood may never have come.  Instead we may have been born into a redeemed society full of Enoch’s, instead of into the world of sin in which we now find plagues about to be poured out.  God delayed then, even after deciding what must happen.  The story of this revelation like that of Noah, focuses first on the redemption that has been offered and accepted.  It is this primary focus we should remember, even when telling the story of the last 7 plagues to befall the wicked.

John continues in verse 5 … “And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:”  After the song of the redeemed, after the focus on the victory occurs, the story must proceed.  The “temple of the tabernacle of the testimony” in heaven is opened.  Could this be a reference to the testimony of Jesus Christ, combined with the immutable principles of love inscribed on tablets of stone so many years ago?  John continues in verse 6 … “And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.”  The angels emerge from this temple.  Their clothing is noticed, perhaps representing the purity of the mission they are to perform.  For the judgments of Lord are righteous, and His patience has been long suffering.  John continues in verse 7 … “And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.”  One of the four beasts, or sentient life-forms from beyond our understanding, offers vials to each of the angels.  Each vial holding a plague.

John continues in verse 8 … “And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.”  What must be done, must be done alone.  The temple fills with smoke, and the 24 elders, and first fruits of redemption who reside in heaven like Moses, Elijah, Enoch, and those who ascended at the resurrection of Christ, must remain outside of the temple until the plagues are completed.  Perhaps this is because our God does not wish us to see Him weep.  Perhaps the punishment which the wicked have earned and which must now be poured out STILL causes such deep sorrow in the heart of God, that He wishes to be alone while it occurs, so that we do not see His tears of love rejected.  The sorrow that broke the heart of Christ, now perhaps breaks the heart of His Father.  What must be done, must be done.  But pouring out punishment is not an act which brings Him joy.  For us to see Him weep, might well be more than human limits can tolerate and so we must remain outside so we do not see His tears we will never be able to wipe away.  Once again, He places our interests, and the care of our hearts, ahead of even His own.  Once again, perhaps He demonstrates that He cares more about our feelings than even that of His own.  And so He remains alone to do what must be done, and what He wishes was never required to do.

It is not eagerness that sees this day arrive.  It is not a thirst for vengeance and blood that sees this day arrive.  It has been so long delayed for patience and hope that even one more soul will accept the gift of His redemption.  But now, with the third beast having made the whole world make a final choice, there is no one left who will accept.  The danger of accepting the mark of the third beast, is that it represents the last opportunity in which we might change our mind.  Once that mark is upon us, our choice is forever sealed.  The cycle of sin, repentance, and forgiveness is broken.  From this moment on, our sin will not be something we repent of.  We will no longer ask for forgiveness.  We will no longer want it.  Those who accept this mark, cut themselves off from the salvation of Christ, one final time.  In so doing, they bring about this day of the plague’s arrival.  For there is no one left to say “yes” to God.  It was not God who created this plan of the third beast.  It was not God who attempted to compel the conscience of all men and bring about the end of the world.  God only revealed the plans of the enemy.  He had no hand in making them transpire.

It is Satan alone who has longed for this day.  It is Satan alone who takes great pleasure in the sadness of God.  It is Satan and those who follow the dragon, and the beasts he gave power to, who revel in the suffering and death of others.  It is the wicked who rejoice in the suffering of others.  Christians cannot.  Real Christians cannot.  If one who claims the name of Christ, finds joy in the pain and suffering of others, they bare that name in error.  God Himself, takes no pleasure in the suffering and pain that sin brings into the world.  Instead He longs to relieve it.  But as of this day, there are no more who will accept the relief He offers.  Christians feel the pain of love rejected.  Christians share a longing to see pain relieved, and redemption embraced.  Christians do not want suffering to be the ultimate destiny of others, but instead only redemption.  If Christians do not really feel this, they are not really Christians, instead they deceive themselves.  Justice is the last resort of our God, not His first.  Judgment was not His first option, but His last.  Redemption was always meant to be plan A.  Had we remained faithful, He would have had to pay so high a cost to see us redeemed, but He paid it all without a second thought, or doubt.  Only after all final efforts to accept His redemption are decided can this day come.  And it has arrived.

The prologue is over, the revelation must continue …

 

Aftermath ...

The darkness remained.  The noise dissipated.  Satan could not believe his own eyes.  He always thought that at some point, Christ in the embodiment of weakened human nature, would find a way to back out of going through with His own death.  Surely God the Father would not permit His most treasured object of affection, to actually die.  Particularly at the hands of this wicked species, who had the special irony of using God’s own religion against Him.  This was beyond the comprehension of Satan that Christ would go through with it, and that God the Father would allow it.

 

Satan and his band of malcontents had lost a war to this Christ.  They had been kicked out of heaven by this Christ.  They knew He had the power of God, and they knew He could easily stop His own death.  And yet He did not.  Christ submitted His own power, and His own desire for self-preservation, and His own human weakness; for the love He felt for us.  And thus Christ went through with our punishment even unto death.  Having all the power in the universe at His disposal, He used none of it to preserve Himself from suffering our fate, and taking on our well-deserved punishment.  This level of sacrifice, Satan had simply become too degraded to understand.  Seeing that love had no limits; effectively had broken down the purported legitimacy of every argument he had ever made about the character of God, on display to the entire universe.

This loss to the kingdom of Satan was stunning.  Satan had long hoped the misery of mankind over breaking the “laws” of God would somehow inspire the rest of the universe to revolt seeing that God was nothing more than a cruel dictator who took pleasure in the punishment of others.  However, to see that same God, give up everything; to see Him sacrifice His only Son; to see the perfect Son do nothing wrong, but willingly yield up even His own life, to save us from the fate and punishment we deserve stood as a real example of why Satan was wrong.  God did not delight in our punishment, but in our salvation.  And He was willing to die in our stead to prove it.  Satan would make no such gesture.  Satan wanted God dead, but would never be willing to make a similar sacrifice for his own kingdom or cause.  The difference was stark.  The difference was clear.  The character of God had been vindicated to the angelic hosts on both sides of the conflict.  The arguments were over.  The rest of sentient life in the universe could see the contrast of love for others without end, and what happens when love is twisted to only please self.  Satan’s argument had failed.  He had lost.  The contrast of good and evil was decided on that cross.  There was nothing left he could say, and there would be no universal uprising against God.  All Satan would have left now, was to hurt God as much as he could before Satan died.  He would hurt God, but by hurting the thing God loves the most, namely us.

Beyond the unseen realm of universal importance was the aftermath of the death of Christ here in our world.  In perhaps the height of hypocrisy, and self-delusion, the religious leaders who would never be able to remove the stain of the blood of Christ from their guilty hands, attempted to purify themselves, and resume services for the Day of Atonement.  Even while they killed the innocent lamb, the irony of killing the Lamb of God was lost on them.  Even though the symbolism of the blood of the lamb to atone for their misdoings was literally all over their fingertips, they missed the reality of what they had just done to the actual Lamb of God.  Instead they would follow self-proscribed ideas about Sabbath observance.  These same ideas had no founding in the values of God.  It was these ideas that had led to the first conflict with Christ, for Christ had loved and healed someone on Sabbath.  And despite their warnings of Christ not abiding by their own Sabbatical laws and interpretations, He had done it again.  So now, in the aftermath of the death of the Lamb of God, in the year of Jubilee when all property must be returned to its owners, all the slaves must be set free, and on the Day of Atonement itself, the religious leaders went about their traditions uninterrupted by the killing of God’s only Son.

But there was a problem.  Great care was always taken so that only the High Priest, wearing the vestments of his office, could enter the Most Holy place in the temple of God.  No one else was permitted to even look into it, upon pain of death.  The priest actually wore bells around the hem of his garment, and a rope tied to his ankles so that he could be pulled out if the bells stopped making noise in the event of his death.  To enter the presence of God with sin, in an incorrect manner, was to die as sin cannot exist in the presence of God.  It was our sin that separated Christ from His Father, broke His heart, and killed Him in grief.  So while every precaution always had to be taken for this singular annual event, today was markedly different.  The great and heavy multi-layered curtain which separated the Most Holy place of the temple from the Holy place where priests were always about their business was torn by an unseen hand from top to bottom.  Temple worshippers, of which there would never be more than now, some of whom had come to Jerusalem hoping to crown Christ their new Messiah King; could now see the Ark of the Covenant without death.  What is more, the presence of God was NOT to be found in the mercy seat.  Christ in fact, would be at rest in the grave on the Sabbath.

Without the presence of God in the temple, there would be no need for pilgrims to come to Jerusalem any longer to worship.  Without the presence of God in the temple, the control of the priests over the people would be broken.  The worship of God would now reside where it always should have been, in the hearts of men, not in the structures we erect in His name.  It was not as if the priests could cover this truth up.  The curtain was torn in front of witnesses.  It could not be repaired quickly.  And the entire missing presence of God was physically seen by the attending crowds.  The need for further sacrifice of sheep’s blood had lost its meaning.  No more would we need sacrifice to point forward to the death of God in our place.  Instead we would now look backwards at this event.  The sacrificial system had lost its significance.  The directives of God for worship in this regard, had been fulfilled.  They would no longer be required.  And to insure we got that message, the curtain had been torn, and the Mercy seat on the top of the Ark was visibly empty.  The laws of God would transfer their significance from the stone shards within the Ark, to the hearts of believers who would submit to their God and learn to love others.  No longer would the Jewish nation be the preservers of love, for they had given that duty away in the act of killing Christ.  From now on, ALL men would be drawn to the Love that was raised upon that cross.  The mercy seat would find its home in our hearts, as would the love of God, when we like Christ yield our will to the Father in Heaven.

The character of God, and the 10 commandment laws were not broken or done away with by Christ, even in death.  Christ still honored God, and kept His day Holy, resting from His own work of salvation; not taking the name of God in vain; nor dishonoring, nor stealing, nor killing, nor lusting, nor coveting.  In every way, before, during, and after His death, Christ upheld the law that began to define what love is to God and man.  This law was a part of “who” God is, and therefore cannot be abolished without abolishing Love itself.  However, the laws of the temple and its system of worship, the laws of animal sacrifice and atonement; those laws had seen their fulfillment in the life and death of Christ.  They would no longer be relevant, or required.  The annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem, or to any other city of worship, would be something without significance to God.  We would now be able to find God, by seeking Him from within our hearts.  God would no longer be constrained to be only in one place, in one temple, in one city.  He was free to be everywhere with us, through the outpouring of His Holy Spirit.

The universe had been sealed forever.  The worship system of God had changed forever.  And the followers of God became publicly scarce in number.  However, the significance of these events were not lost on all who understood the prophecies and what had just been accomplished.  In the heart of darkness, those who had sought Him in secret now emerged boldly from the shadows.   John records in his gospel in chapter 19 and verse 38 … “And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.”  Jesus was dead.  Joseph was one of the religious leadership so Pilate had no problems with having someone dispose of the body.  Next would emerge another follower of Christ who had kept his own allegiance quiet until now.  John continues in verse 39 … “And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. [verse 40] Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.”  These two men and the attending women would take great care of their Lord after His death.  They would gently clean His body, and perfume it with spices and oils, wrapping it in linens for burial.

The Sabbath was very close, and for convenience there was a garden close by, and a new tomb that had never been used within it.  So John records in verse 41 … “Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. [verse 42] There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.”  They would place Jesus here, at least for the time being, in order that He might rest and they might all return to Jerusalem for the worship they had grown accustomed to performing.  Perhaps they would join with those who sought shelter in the upper room.  Or perhaps they would bear witness to the first fruits that had emerged from their graves at the death of Christ.  A crop he would take with Him when He ascended to the Father; a harvest of what His sacrifice had enabled.  These long deceased messengers and patriarchs of God, walked the streets of Jerusalem with a singular message about the divinity of Christ; a message that would have a resounding resonance. 

By and large the people were still expecting to see Christ at the ceremonies.  They were anxious to crown Him king.  They were anxious to see the prophecies of the Messiah fulfilled.  They had every hope the Romans would soon be leaving.  But the religious leaders knew that could not be the case.  They knew what they had done.  They began to remember the words of Christ, they understood even before His own disciples did, that He might rise again on the third day.  So they took precautions to insure this could not occur through trickery.  John does not record their request they made of Pilate to place 100 guards at the tomb of Christ.  Pilate must have thought the Jews were completely crazy.  But given the popularity of Christ, there was no sense in seeing a riot break out over the disposition of where Christ was buried.  So he directed guards to place a giant stone in front of the tomb, a stone that required many of his guards to move.  They would place a Roman seal on the stone, so that anyone who dared to break it, would know it was a death sentence for them as well.  Pilate and the Jews who sought him out in this matter, believed they had all the bases covered. 

It would have been unusual for the followers of Christ to try something.  Up to now, they had not demonstrated a wealth of bravery.  Up to now, they had been meek, disappointed, sad, and humiliated.  One of their number had betrayed Christ for 30 pieces of silver, and ultimately hung himself in despair.  Another had denied even knowing who Christ was three times in a single night.  One of them was a notorious doubter.  One of them a former Roman tax collector and hated by his own people for it.  Most of the rest were simple fishermen with little education, and no fighting skills.  They would be outmatched at His grave by 100 seasoned Roman killers.  These followers were perhaps the most disappointed in the chain of events.  They knew Christ to be God, but they also knew He was dead at the hands of the priests and the Romans.  Like Satan, they could not understand how God would allow this.  Like Satan, they had always figured that power was the ultimate goal, and they knew Christ had it in Him to take power anytime He wanted.  Like Judas, they probably all had hoped He would simply exert that power to avoid death.  They would have.  We would have.   Why didn’t he?

The aftermath was a time of miracles, a time of reflection, a time of rest, a time of change, and a time of taking measures of precaution.   But nothing could prevent what was about to occur …